Here I am, eating lunch in the Toronto airport. Let me tell you, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to all the Canadians talk on the flight...just a slight accent, but entertaining nontheless. Even though my salad/soup combo is about to cost me $16, I feel at ease because the airport isn't busy, so there is a general sense of relaxation throughout the terminal. The calmness is nice, especially for me. Unfortunately, I have a terrible fear of flying, and the turbulence in my first 1 hour 25 minute flight made me want to kiss the Canadian airport carpets when we landed. How am I going to last the next 13 hour or so flight? Who knows? I generally sit white knuckled and shaking through most of my flying travels, so I've really been mentally preparing myself for this doozy of a flight. My trepidation about the flight, lack of Chinese language skills, and the general concept of traveling thousands of miles away has caused me to forego serious amounts of sleep over the last few days, so I'm hoping exhaustion will kick in and allow me to get some sleep. I'm hopeful.
